Tribunal poised to act on bike paths' missing link

By Clay Lucas

June 14, 2008 — 12.00am

FOR decades, road advocates have campaigned to get the "missing links" in Melbourne's road network built.

The same goes for bicycle lobbyists. After 19 years of pressure from cycling groups, the State Government is poised to override local opposition to a proposed 1.8-kilometre bike path connecting the Darebin Creek bike route with the Yarra River main trail.

Daniel and James Jones at the end of the Darebin Creek path, beyond which lies private land.

Fed up with decades of argy-bargy by the Yarra, Boroondara and Banyule councils, Parks Victoria last week transferred planning authority for the proposed path from the councils to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Boroondara Council will vote on Monday night on its position on the planning transfer.

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The three-metre-wide path would cost $4 million, and include five river crossings, including a bridge over the Yarra.

Bicycle Victoria, which first called for the path to be built in 1989, calls it "the missing link" in Melbourne's bike trail network. The proposed path runs around Alphington Grammar and through Latrobe golf course before crossing the Yarra and skirting a small billabong in Kew.

Opposition has come from the grammar school and the golf club, where land could be compulsorily acquired for the path. Resident groups in Kew also opposed it, saying cyclists would damage local parks. Lobbyists predict that about 4000 cyclists a day would use the path.

Alphington local Anthony Jones can't wait until it's built. His two boys now ride to Kew High School but to get there they must cross busy roads.

Their ride to school would be much simpler and safer if the Darebin Creek bike path, which now ends abruptly, continued on to join the Yarra trail. "My boys haven't been hit (on their bikes) yet, but another boy was a few weeks ago," Mr Jones said.

Latrobe Golf Club general manager Rod Haines wants Parks Victoria to select another route, not one that runs through the golf course. He said it was unclear who would bear liability if cyclists were hit by golf balls, or golfers were hit by cyclists.

Over the Yarra River in Kew, the path would divide a popular dog-walking circuit. The land, farmed until 1944, has been rehabilitated, with massive effort gone into restoring a pre-settlement billabong.

The Friends of Willsmere Park and Kew Billabong said the bridge that would carry cyclists across the Yarra into Kew would hurt wildlife and ruin the billabong.

"(The bridge) is going to be an enormous concrete and steel structure that will intrude 80 metres into the park on either side," said spokesman Tony Michael. "It is not a dainty little bridge  I'm calling it our West Gate."

In all, 63 trees would be removed to make the bike path. "They want to turn this into a bicycle commuter freeway."

Mr Michael cited a Boroondara Council report that said cyclists would erode the riverbank, destroy vegetation and scare off native animals. His group also wants the path to take a different route.

Bicycle Victoria said alternative routes were unacceptable because they were on roads.

Melbourne has more than 600 kilometres of off-road bicycle paths, and the bicycle group said similar arguments were thrown up against routes now considered successful and popular.

"We faced the same thing at the Collingwood Children's Farm," said Bicycle Victoria general manager Harry Barber. "The needs of the many are being put against the desires of the few," he said, and after the Darebin path was built "people will wonder how we ever did without it".